by Katie Dunn
One was an older man, probably in his forties, with a round face, brown hair and brown eyes. He looked normal and I would never have suspected him as a cult leader. A woman sat next to him, about the same age, maybe a little older if the gray in her blonde hair was any indication. She had dark eyes and tanned skin. She stared out over the crowd with an emotionless face. The guy next to her was the oldest. He also looked to be the one in charge, like the head honcho. He smiled at some people in the front row and looked innocent enough. He was probably in his seventies with short gray hair, wrinkles, big chin, and blue eyes. Although, he wore a traditional robe that made him look the part of a cult leader.
“We have some very important news,” the oldest man in the robe announced. That quieted everyone down.
“As you all know, after the death of one of our own and of many innocent college students we have decided to bring in professionals before this mess escalates,” the woman added.
My cheeks burned with guilt. I didn’t mean to kill the college guy at the party or the Templar girl. In addition to feeling guilty about the loss of control over my powers I also felt offended. They brought in professionals, so my “mess” didn’t escalate? They attacked me first! The second body never would have happened if they didn’t try killing me and the rest of the bodies were not my fault. I eyed the blonde college Templar to see his reaction then gave up when the back of his head revealed nothing.
Shawna squeezed my arm briefly before letting go. I nodded at her show of comfort and calmed down a bit.
“We would like you all to meet them tonight.” The plain man on the end stood up and walked over to the door, opening it then escorting three men inside.
I shot a wide-eyed look at Shawna in surprise. Shawna never mentioned they would be there tonight. A hint of betrayal wormed its way into my mind, but I squashed it. Shawna did not betray me. She looked just as shocked as I was that they were there. She gripped my arm again but this time it was not comforting due to the panic she radiated.
The plain man waved the three professionals forward to say a little something then sat down, letting them take the stage. During my research, the closest thing I could get to figuring out the roles of the professionals was the history of the Inquisition. In the 12th century, the Inquisition rooted out heresy by torturing people and hunting down those they believed were against the Church. Their methods were terrifying, and no one was safe. They also had a part in witch hunts since witches were considered heretics. From that information I figured they must have included Horsemen into that mix and hunted them as well.
The men standing up front looked nothing like the books described. They all wore jeans and hiking boots. The one on the left was no more than thirty years old and had a plaid shirt on. In addition to his shirt and boots, his beard and mustache made him look like a lumberjack. The man in the middle was older with slick backed black hair and glasses. He looked so normal, almost like a professor. I shivered, thinking he might actually be a professor and I made a mental note to find out if he taught at Penn State so I could avoid his classes. The last guy was around my age and had a gauge in one ear, a nose piercing, and a band T-shirt. I never would have pegged him as a Templar let alone a professional, killer one.
The professor looking one stepped forward and addressed the people in the room. “Hello, it is nice to be in Pennsylvania, it has been a while since I’ve been here.” He turned slightly and pointed to his colleagues. “This is Peter, Dean, and I am John. We will eradicate the threat and be gone before you know it.”
The audience clapped and whistled. Trying to blend in, I did a soft, slow clap though my stomach twisted. All these people were clapping for my demise. Shivers skated down my arms when I imagined them figuring out I was in their midst.
John patted the air to let us know we should quiet down. “In order to help us deal with this efficiently, please answer any and all questions we may have for you.” He sought out the Penn State university kids and nodded at them to let them know he would be seeking them out later. “Otherwise, please stay out of our way.” With that, John waved to Peter and Dean to follow him and they took seats in the front row.
The old man in the robe took over again and adjourned the meeting a few minutes later. I darted for the door wanting to escape the room where three hunters were planning to kill me and my friends. I didn’t wait to see if Shawna was behind me. All I could think about was getting as far away as I could from John, Peter, and Dean. I almost made it until a hand reached out and gripped my arm, pulling me to a stop.
“Can I ask you a few questions?”
I turned, trying to keep the panic from my face. Dean, the professional Horseman hunter with the nose ring and gauge in his ear, held my arm as he looked at me expectantly. If I didn’t know who he was I would think he was cute but I did know who he was and all I could imagine was him reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a dagger and stabbing me right there in front of the whole room.
“Um…” My mind blanked. I had to get out of there. Now!
I felt the stirrings of my talent kicking in and I had to focus all my energy in pushing it down, so I didn’t accidentally kill the guy. Images of the Inquisition questioning and torturing people popped into my mind. That would be a big nope for me. I knew it was the 21st century and they probably didn’t do things like that anymore but I was a Horseman hiding in plain sight while the big, scary Templar wanted to question me so sue me for thinking that was the way it would go.
Dean opened his mouth to say something. Maybe something like ‘Hey are you a Horseman?’ but he didn’t get a chance. Shawna appeared on my left and took my arm from Dean’s grasp. Dean glanced at the arm that escaped his grip then narrowed his eyes at Shawna.
“Hi, sorry, my friend only speaks Italian,” Shawna covered, then tried to tug me away.
I shot a wide-eyed look at my friend, yes, I just referred to her as friend, we are good now, and shook my head the tiniest bit. I didn’t know Italian.
She pursed her lips and nodded, wanting me to go along with it. Hopefully Dean didn’t see that quick exchange. “She is an exchange student.” Shawna almost had me to the door until Dean stopped her by tugging on my other arm, bringing us both back to stand in front of him.
I played along and tilted my head in confusion, acting like I couldn’t understand their conversation.
Dean leveled his gaze back on me and smiled, but its fake appearance made dread pound in my chest. “Posso farti qualche domanda?”
I stared at him blankly. Crap. Of course, he spoke Italian. I shot a panicked look to Shawna. Her parents were in Italy, maybe she knew what Dean said. Shawna just stared back with an equally panicked look. I decided to wing it then get out of there fast.
I chuckled awkwardly and shook my head, looking apologetic. “Lo siento, tengo que ir.” Italian was like Spanish, right? I took a couple Spanish classes in high school, so I knew how to say sorry and I have to go.
Dean chuckled, but his grip tightened on my arm, and his smile turned cold. “Nice try, but that was Spanish.” He brought me closer and glared at me. “Who are you?”
Chapter 18
I opened my mouth to say no entiendo, sticking with my Spanish theme but the words never left my lips. The doors crashed open and all heads spun to see what caused it. Dean’s hand loosened on my arm giving me the opportunity to yank it free. I gasped when Liam, Trevor, and Kaden walked in with confused expressions on their faces. They looked around then seemed to notice what this meeting was about, and their faces morphed into terrifying expressions that froze everyone to their spot.
I was relieved to see them. Together we could get out of this and I would be able to tell them about the professionals. I went to take a step toward them. As soon as I twitched and placed one foot forward, Liam’s burning, hate filled eyes locked on me. Hurt spiked in my chest at the lack of recognition and hate that I saw there. He took another step into the room. He looked to be on the verge of murder.
; A shocked gasp made me move my eyes away from Liam to Kaden. Kaden didn’t look at me, instead he looked passed me with hurt and confusion flashing across his face. Eventually his features settled into fury and he took a step forward with clenched fists. I glanced behind me to see what made him react that way and saw Shawna shaking her head with tears in her eyes. I stepped back and gripped Shawna’s hand letting her know I wouldn’t let them hurt her.
“Where is she?” Liam shouted out at the Templars.
John came out of the crowd and faced the Horsemen with a smirk. “Well, well, well, thank you for saving us the trouble of hunting you down.” John flicked his wrist down and a long blade materialized.
I jumped in shock at the sudden appearance of the blade. I wanted to learn that trick! Too bad he was a professional hunter and would kill me at his earliest convenience. I pulled Shawna away discreetly, not wanting to be in the line of John or Dean’s attack.
“Where is she?” Liam repeated, ignoring the sword John now held.
The other Templars in the room shook off their shock and stepped up to stand behind John. Peter moved through the crowd until it was him, John, and Dean facing the Horsemen with the other Templars behind them.
Jeez, this was going to get ugly. Tension hung in the air and I braced myself for what was about to go down. My main goal was to get Shawna out of there then I could worry about getting the Horsemen and running away. That may make me sound like a coward but there was no way we could take on thirty Templars who had it out for us. The guys seemed to think they could because a second after I had that thought, the three of them launched themselves at the professionals. Chaos ensued and I had to dart to the side as a body went sailing through the air and landed where I had been standing.
I pulled on Shawna’s hand and we made our way to the door that was no longer blocked by three angry Horsemen. Screams erupted in the crowd sending chills down my arms. I risked a look at the fight and saw Liam gripping a man’s arm while the man screamed and tried to scramble away. The people in a five-foot radius of him gave him a wide berth as they struggled with their fear.
An almost inhuman roar made my head swivel to the other side of the room to find Kaden red faced and shouting at his opponents as he swung a sword at a Templar’s head. The Templar turned out to be Peter who was just as angry. However, the more Peter got mad the stronger Kaden would become as he fed off his emotion. Kaden missed slicing Peter’s head off but couldn’t try again as three other Templars advanced on him. Kaden stood still and I almost felt the pulse of anger explode from him. The result was terrifying. The three men around Kaden shouted and turned on each other in a fit of rage. I almost stopped my progression to the door to stand and gape at the display of power.
I couldn’t see Trevor anywhere, but I had no doubt he was using his ability to make his opponents feel weak and unable to fight as despair crashed through them. Hmm, maybe we could take on thirty Templars after all. I never realized how powerful the guys were. No wonder the Templars were afraid of us and wanted us dead.
I pulled Shawna the last few feet to the door and opened it. Suddenly the door was yanked from my hand as someone kicked it closed. I hissed at the stinging it left on my palm and turned to face our threat, moving Shawna behind me so I could protect her. I dropped into a guarded stance that Kaden taught me and pulled out a pocketknife from my jeans.
I relaxed when I saw it was Liam that stopped me. I lowered my weapon and smiled at him.
“No one leaves,” he stated with clenched fists by his sides. His expression was guarded and cold. No hint of recognition or forgiveness in his eyes. It hurt more than being stabbed.
I took a step toward him to explain how sorry I was for not telling him I went to the meeting, but his gasp stopped me.
His eyes focused on Shawna behind me and disbelief flashed across his face. “What are you doing here?” he accused.
I turned to see Shawna and her wide eyes glanced back and forth between me and Liam. Liam saw the look and turned narrowed eyes on me.
“Did you kidnap her?” His voice hardened when he spoke his next question. “Where is Phi?”
I couldn’t tell if that last question was aimed at me or Shawna. Either way there was no reason for him to ask it. I frowned in confusion and stepped toward him. He pointed a finger at me, halting my movement.
“Don’t come closer, Templar. You don’t want to know what will happen. Give me the girl and I might just let you live.” Liam moved his finger to point at Shawna as he finished his order, indicating I should hand over Shawna to him.
My frown deepened and I glanced behind me, wondering if Shawna knew what was happening. She looked just as confused then her eyes widened in realization. She pointed to my hair and I touched it wondering why she was bringing that up suddenly. Was there something on it? Eww, was there blood? I reached my hand up and brought a piece of hair around only to see that it was not my hair.
I was an idiot.
I yanked off the blonde wig and turned to Liam, finally realizing he didn’t recognize me because I was in disguise.
His glare turned to wide eyed disbelief. “Phi?”
I cringed. “Yeah?”
Liam stomped forward and crushed me in a hug. “I was so scared they hurt you.” He pulled back and anger replaced concern. “Why are you here?”
I looked away, trying to find a plausible answer that wouldn’t get me in trouble. “Well…” I stopped, unable to think of anything. Ugh, truth it is then. “I had a tip that there would be a meeting about the professional hunters, so I came in disguise.”
Liam’s hands on my arms tightened until I squeaked in pain. He let me go and ran a hand through his hair. His gaze drifted to Shawna. “Why is she here?”
“Umm…” Again, I tried thinking of an answer that wouldn’t get us in trouble or her killed but came up with nothing.
Shawna stepped forward and pushed her shoulders back, bracing herself to say something difficult. “I am her informant.”
Liam blinked at her. “Say what now?”
Shawna took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I am a Templar.”
Suddenly my arm was gripped in Liam’s hand again while Shawna got the same treatment with his other. “We’re leaving.”
Liam dragged us to the door that I tried to go through earlier and nodded his head to it indicating for one of us to open it. I quickly put my knife away while Shawna reached out and did as he silently ordered.
Liam turned his head back to the fight and called out, “Let’s go,” but didn’t wait for a response.
I expected someone to stop us but there was so much chaos that we were able to slip out unnoticed. Liam didn’t wait for the others. Instead he guided Shawna and I forcefully out of the building then toward his house. When we were far enough away, I yanked on my arm. Liam refused to let go so I pinched him and used his surprise to get my arm free. Liam stopped abruptly and turned to me with fire in his eyes. We stood there, face to face, glaring and waiting for the other to crack first.
Kaden and Trevor trotted up to us, breaking up our standoff with their presence. Liam turned to them and roughly pushed Shawna at Kaden. I shouted and went to help her, but Trevor stepped in front of me blocking my attempt. I glared at him, but it had no effect.
We walked silently back to the house, all of us keeping an eye on our surroundings. How had the others escaped the room? Did they kill everyone? The thought frightened me but also kind of relieved me. I felt ashamed for feeling relieved, but it would mean my life wasn’t in danger. I would have to ask them later about it since I doubted anyone wanted to talk at the moment. I kept glancing back to see if Shawna was okay and she would nod each time to reassure me, but I could tell by the way she was rubbing her arm that Liam probably left a bruise and the tears watering her eyes was because of Kaden’s cold shoulder demeanor.
Liam waved us inside once we got to the house then checked the perimeter to make sure we were not followed. I immediately walked to the ki
tchen table knowing we would have a meeting even though I really wanted to run up to my room and hide in there forever. I could sneak up food later then switch to online classes, so I never had to leave the safety of my room. I would totally be fine. However, I knew I would have to face the guys some time and there was no way I would leave Shawna down here to explain all on her own. So, I pulled out a chair and plopped into it, bracing myself for the inevitable.
Shawna sat down next to me but kept her head bowed. Kaden and Trevor took the other two chairs which left Liam standing when he got back. He probably didn’t mind though since he kept pacing and running his hand through his hair. I cringed at the state I put him in. I had never seen him so unhinged.
“Tell us exactly what happened,” Liam ordered after coming to a stop at the table. He leaned over it with his hands on the table and looked between me and Shawna waiting for one of us to speak. Trickles of fear made their way into my mind and body. Shawna whimpered and that’s when I knew Liam was using his talent.
I slapped my hand on the table, causing everyone to jump. “Quit it!”
The fear instantly vanished.
I leaned back in my chair and fidgeted with my bracelet. “I found out Shawna was a Templar, and long story short she ended up being one of the good ones so she has been giving me information and tonight there was a meeting so I went hoping to find out more about the professionals.”
The guys stared at me then slowly switched their focus to Shawna. Shawna suddenly jumped up and started yelling at us. “It was not my choice! I never wanted this life! Leave me alone!” I stared open mouthed at her outburst. What brought that on? I glanced at Kaden and watched as he tightened his fist and Shawna raged louder.
Gah! Why can’t these guys go one second without torturing Shawna? I stood up and reached out, slapping Kaden on the back of the head then sat back down. I pierced each of them with my best glare. “Leave her alone.”